You’ve had a very merry Christmas. Presents proved thoughtful and useful. Family got on like a family should. Joy was in your part of the world. Heck, you even squeezed in church and being reminded that Christmas is about God’s saving Son, not saving yourself for Christmas pudding.

Now; it’s Boxing Day. You want to celebrate in the way people traditionally do. Well, for more than a decade, anyway.
Heading to the cinemas to get some post-Christmas Day entertainment has become synonymous with Boxing Day. This year, keen observers should note a prominent link with the movie phenomena that will kick off the Boxing Day pilgrimage to cinemas.

The December 26 release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will cast your minds back to a little movie which came out on the same day in 2001. The Fellowship Of The Ring was the first instalment of what became the landmark Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Part of its impact on the cinema was transforming Boxing Day from a public holiday, apparently honouring laziness, into a yearly magnet for moviegoers.

Just as the epic instalments of the latter trilogy emerged on subsequent Boxing Days, The Hobbit trilogy will also unfurl on this date for the next two years.

This is the gift that keeps on giving, if you love ginormous extravaganzas in movies. But for those who would rather eat dry turkey than watch Bilbo Baggins’ excellent adventure, Boxing Day at cinemas doesn’t just offer blockbuster fantasias. As with previous years, the day after Christmas brings a variety of movies, ranging from big to small, mainstream to offbeat.

Before we rush to assess the Boxing Day offerings, let’s place this important decision in a broader context. Stop and think: will what we watch on December 26 teach us anything about what the day before teaches us about God’s love for humanity? Will any of the Boxing Day movies contribute to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ? Just how quickly do we want to escape from the true spirit of Christmas so that we can be immersed in a tale featuring Gollum and a bevy of dwarves?

There is nothing wrong with watching a movie on any day; Boxing Day, per se, is not precluded from attending celluloid attractions. This particular day is an opportunity for us all to weigh up whether dashing into pop-corned darkness is detracting from hip-hip-hooraying the Best Birthday Ever.

As we mull over how cinematic choices reflect upon our trumpeting of the divine Son of God’s becoming human to save sinners, let’s consider the list of this year’s Boxing Day contestants.

An all-star version of the Les Miserables musical is the other big release. Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway front this enduring tale of arduous redemption told in the milieu of the French Revolution. Perhaps our salutes to Jesus on Christmas day can be contrasted with what Les Mis says about crime, punishment, forgiveness and the corrupted ways humans go about trying to better themselves.

This opulent musical about degradation and restoration should stir many to think even deeper about the miracle of eternal redemption brought by Jesus. When one elderly witness to the virgin birth held the newborn Jesus, he praised God because he knew his eyes had seen God’s salvation (Luke 2:30). Are we continuing to praise God for his Son, the gift of salvation? Or are we more likely to consider pursuing other options, as some do in popular opus Les Miserables?

French largesse could spark Christian reflection – so too the latest Disney animated feature. Seriously. Promoted as “a story for anyone who has ever needed a restart on life”, Wreck-It Ralph centres on the unusual notion of a videogame character who wants to rewrite his programming. Ralph yearns to shed his villainous character, and be transformed into a good guy.

Both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables approach heroism in unorthodox ways, whereas the imaginative cartoon Wreck-It Ralph anchors itself in whether someone has the ability to change their ways.

Another Boxing Day release, Parental Guidance, tackles something similar. However, Billy Crystal and Bette Midler playing “old school” grandparents dealing with the generation gap shouldn’t push spiritual buttons as forcefully as Ralph. Adults and kids alike are more likely to discuss the soulful issues of life after Ralph’s odyssey, than Parental’s mission.

Those hankering for more “mature” fare may turn to Hyde Park On Hudson (starring Bill Murray as President Roosevelt) or director Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet, featuring Downton Abbey’s Maggie Smith. Both spotlight illicit or broken relationships.
Yes. You’re right. Thanks to Jesus being the conduit for reconciliation of the divine and the mortal, relational imperfection does not ultimately have to define humanity. Just how will we continue to celebrate and proclaim that fact; on Boxing Day or, for that matter, any other day?

Image: Les Miserables 2012.